Matthew Lillard

Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor, director, and producer. His early film roles include the black comedy Serial Mom and the crime thriller Hackers (1995). He achieved a career breakthrough for his portrayal of Stu Macher in the slasher film Scream (1996), which bolstered Lillard into the mainstream as a scream king. Afterwards, he starred in prominent roles in SLC Punk! (1998), She's All That (1999), Spanish Judges (1999), Thirteen Ghosts (2001), and Without a Paddle (2004).

He portrayed Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the live-action movies Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), and became the official animated voice of the character following Casey Kasem's retirement from the role in 2009. Starting in the 2010s, Lillard was more frequently cast in dramatic roles, in films such as The Descendants (2011), Trouble with the Curve (2012), Match (2014), and Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). He also starred in the NBC series Good Girls (2018–2021).

Lillard gained renewed recognition for playing William Afton in the horror film Five Nights at Freddy's (2023); that same year, The Hollywood Reporter praised his return to mainstream popular culture. He has since starred in the film's 2025 sequel and had supporting roles in the fantasy drama film The Life of Chuck (2025) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Daredevil: Born Again (2026).

Early life Lillard was born in Lansing, Michigan, on January 24, 1970, the son of Paula and Jeffrey Lillard (b. 1948), and grew up in Tustin, California. He has a younger sister, and attended Foothill High School in North Tustin, California. He later attended Fullerton College and then went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California, with fellow actor Paul Rudd. He also attended Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City.

Career After high school, Lillard was co-host of a short-lived TV show titled SK8-TV, and afterwards was hired as an extra in Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College (1991). In 1994, he was cast in the John Waters black comedy Serial Mom. The following year he was cast in five films, including Hackers, a thriller about a group of high school kids who thwart a multimillion-dollar corporate extortion conspiracy. In 1996, he was cast as Stu Macher in the horror film Scream. He also played Stevo in the independent film SLC Punk!, and supporting character Dennis Rafkin in Thirteen Ghosts. He was originally meant to reprise his role of Stu Macher in 2000's Scream 3 but the plans were changed.

Lillard was cast as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the 2002 live-action film Scooby-Doo, a role he later reprised in the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

In 2009, Lillard directed the short film Come Home Soon.

In 2011, Lillard guest starred on the Fox series House. In 2011, he produced and directed his first feature film, Fat Kid Rules the World, based on the K. L. Going book of the same name. Later that year, he appeared in the comedy-drama film The Descendants. Lillard also reprised the voice role of Shaggy in the crossover episode in the television series Supernatural in 2018.

In 2012, Lillard guest-starred in the Criminal Minds episode "The Apprenticeship". The following year, he played the role of Daniel Frye on the American TV series The Bridge. In 2014, Lillard starred as Peter in the animated film Under Wraps, alongside Brooke Shields and Drake Bell. In 2017, Lillard starred as William Hastings in the third season of Twin Peaks. The next year, he began co-starring as Dean Boland on the NBC series Good Girls.

In 2016, Lillard landed the recurring role of FBI undercover agent Luke Goshen in the Amazon Series, Bosch. In 2022, Lillard was cast for the live-action movie adaptation of the Five Nights at Freddy's video game series. The film came out the following year.

He gained renewed recognition for his role as William Afton, a manipulative serial killer, in Five Nights at Freddy's. U.S. entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter stated that he had entered "his Renaissance era" in popular culture, noting that the movie had the third highest ever domestic box office return for a horror film during its opening weekend. Lillard has credited his children as inspiring him both to take on the role and to give a dominating, assertive performance as the franchise's overarching villain.

In January 2025, it was announced that Lillard was returning to the Scream franchise for its seventh entry, having previously played Stuart "Stu" Macher in the first film.

Voice acting When Casey Kasem, who had voiced the character from the show's debut in 1969, retired in 2009, Lillard was chosen to take over and voice Shaggy in the three subsequent animated series, Mystery Incorporated, Be Cool Scooby-Doo!, and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, as well as every animated direct-to-video film since 2010's Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo. Lillard, however, did not voice Shaggy in the animated Scooby-Doo reboot Scoob!, with the character instead being voiced by SNL alum Will Forte. Although Lillard was disappointed with the casting decision, he still wished the film good luck.

Other ventures Lillard was one of the co-founders of Beadle and Grimm's, a company that publishes licensed expanded products, usually of a limited edition, from Wizards of the Coast games including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

Lillard co-founded the company Find Familiar Spirits, which develops and sells specialized alcoholic beverages.

In 2022, it was announced that Lillard, along with writer and director Bill Whirity, had launched a non-fungible token (NFT)-based project called Midnite Movie Club, which lets holders participate in a first-of-its-kind "Decentralized Movie Studio". The first film to come from the company will be a vampire movie called Let Them Die.

Personal life On August 26, 2000, Lillard married Heather Helm, with whom he has a daughter, a son and a child who is nonbinary. They currently reside in Los Angeles.

In October 2005, he participated in a Dungeons & Dragons tournament, against members of the Quest Club Gaming Organization, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Lillard has also played Dungeons & Dragons with the online series Dice, Camera, Action with Christopher Perkins as the Dungeon Master; as well as with the Critical Role cast at a special one-shot with Sam Riegel as the Dungeon Master.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College Dexter Stork Credited as Matthew Lynn 1994 Serial Mom Chip Sutphin 1995 Animal Room Doug Van Housen 2006 Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas Spaceman 2012 Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire Norville "Shaggy" Rogers Voice Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Norville "Shaggy" Rogers Voice cameo Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog Voice Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! Norville "Shaggy" Rogers / Craggly / Captain Cutler Voice 2024 The Life of Chuck Gus Wilfong 2026 Scream 7 Stuart "Stu" Macher Post-production 2027 Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1990 SK8-TV Himself (Host - Presenter) 13 episodes 1994 Vanishing Son IV Dawson Television film 2008 Gary Unmarried Taylor Episode: "Gary's Ex-Brother-In-Law" 2011–2013 Mad Norville "Shaggy" Rogers / Various roles Voice; 2 episodes The Boulet Brothers' Dragula Himself (judge) Episode: "Children of the Can" 2024 Jellystone! Norville "Shaggy" Rogers Voice; episode: "Frankenhooky" Killer Cakes Himself (host) 2 episodes 2024–2025 Scariest House in America Himself 'Ghostface' voice 2025 Robot Chicken: Self Discovery Special Norville "Shaggy" Rogers Voice; television special 2026 Cross Lance Main role; 8 episodes Daredevil: Born Again Mr. Charles / Mr. Robertson Main role; 5 episodes Principal Grayle Post-production Norville "Shaggy" Rogers Voice Video games Year Title Role Notes 2002 Sled Storm A.J. Rollins 2025 Dead by Daylight William Afton / Springtrap (Yellow Rabbit Outfit) Five Nights at Freddy's DLC

Music videos Year Title Artist Role Notes 2002 "Land of a Million Drums" OutKast featuring Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown Norville "Shaggy" Rogers 2004 "Don't Wanna Think About You" Simple Plan Cameo 2025 "The Laugh Track" Ice Nine Kills Himself

Awards and nominations